The High Renaissance

§ 6. Leonardo da Vinci (1452—1519)

The history of western civilization records no man as gifted as Leonardo da Vinci. He
was outstanding as painter, sculptor, musician, architect, engineer, scientist and philosopher,
and was unquestionably the most glittering personality of the High Renaissance in Italy.
Leonardo was renowned in a period that produced such giants as Raphael, Michelangelo, and
Titian, and his fame, unlike that of many of the great masters has suffered no eclipse to this day.
Leonardo da Vinci was born in Tuscany, the illegitimate son of a successful notary and a
peasant mother. By 1469 Leonardo was living in Florence where he served an apprenticeship
with Verrocchio, who, to quote an old story, "gave up the brush when his pupil proved a
greater artist than he." Even as a youth he displayed an aptitude for all manner of achievement,
a winning charm, and a personal strength and beauty which have become almost legendary.
Few of Leonardo’s paintings have come down to us: only about eighteen in all, some left
unfinished, some damaged or deteriorated as a result of his experimental techniques, and others
obscured by discoloured varnish.
Before Leonardo, there had been two parallel trends in Italian painting: the monumental
scientific side represented by Masaccio and the more decorative, linear and poetic side, ex-
pressed in Botticelli. Leonardo achieved a combination of these two trends. His impressive ide-
alised forms are worked out with every consideration for scientific knowledge, and yet seem
surrounded by an aura of poetic sentiment. By the 'eighties of the fifteenth century, however,
he far outshone his predecessors and contemporaries in the monumental composition of his
paintings and the stress he laid on visual plasticity.
The earliest work from Leonardo's hand which we know today is the angel in profile at
the left in Andrea del Verrocchio's "The Baptism of Christ", painted probably in the early
1470's when Leonardo was still in Verrocchio's workshop. In Verrocchio's workshop Leonardo
could obtain the best education of his time, not only in art but in independent and scientific
thinking. In those days the artists had to do everything themselves without outside help; they
got ready suitable panels or canvases, ground and mixed pigments, prepared oils, varnishes,
and glues. It was Verrocchio who not only transmitted the artistic ideals of Donatello to
Leonardo, but who also transmitted to him many technicalities of scientific research and the
love of science.
In Verrocchio's studio Leonardo nourished his mind and exercised his skill in every pos-
sible way. It seems that his earliest efforts were in the field of drawing and sculpture, yet he
had also begun to paint, and his first masterpiece "The Adoration of the Magi" was produced
shortly after leaving Verrocchio's workshop in 1481. It was not finished and it remains today as
Leonardo left it, with only the first brown underpainting laid on.
Unfortunately, he was too busy with a host of other projects to finish many pictures. One
of the greatest of the few he left is "The Madonna of the Rocks". Here, in one painting, are the
qualities that make Leonardo a typical artist of the late or High Renaissance: an increasingly
idealised portrayal of human beings and a formal, mathematical arrangement of the persons in
the picture. The conception of the children in this picture, the gently smiling angel and the oth-
erworldly Madonna, all contribute a feeling of more than human nobility and perfection. The
figures move in a dignified, restrained way, their gestures have a solemnity and poise that are
seldom found in ordinary people.
The most characteristic device of almost all High Renaissance artists is to fit the figures
into a specific geometrical pattern: a pyramid in this conception of the Madonna, a circle in
Botticelli's pictures, a parallelogram or a circle in Raphael's. This gives a systematic and or-
dered quality to the works of the High Renaissance.
In Milan Leonardo worked on many important projects including "The Madonna of the
Rocks" and The Last Supper". The latter (perhaps the best-known painting in the world) offers
one of the finest instances of a rigid geometric enclosure. Everything turns inward toward the
head of Christ, even the expressive gestures of his own hands. In spite of the great excitement
within the work, complete formal control is maintained. We can appreciate the artist's way of
presenting the human drama where Christ discloses to his followers quietly that soon one of
their number is to betray him and their cause. It is the reaction of the followers, the study of
people and their attitude to a shocking announcement that the great artist is concerned with.
In fact, Leonardo's main contribution to art was the way he rendered the real world
around him. He made a human being look as if you could step into the flat surface of the pic-
ture and walk around behind it. This was possible because of his understanding of light and
shade and of perspective. In the profound composition, the calm of the figure of Christ is in
poignant contrast with the tragic turmoil his words have caused among his disciples. The fig-
ures of the apostles standing out as in high relief are illuminated by a clear and penetrating
light, behind them are shadow and the orderly architectural details of the room, and beyond the
windows, a landscape bathed in twilight glow. There is, in "The Last Supper" an imposing
grandeur of conception and a powerful plasticity in the forms.
Unfortunately he tried out some new ideas with the paint that he used and this was to
prove most fatal as the picture began to peel and blister only a few years after it was finished.
"The Last Supper" is now only a ghost of its original self. It was painted on a wall of the refec-
tory of the Convent of Dominican Friars, in Milan, at the order of Lodovico Sforza. It was
painted not in true fresco but in an experimental oil technique and in a short time began to dete-
riorate because of the dampness of the wall.
However, no matter how badly preserved Leonardo's paintings may be, they all command
our attention by a strange and intimate fascination. Unlike other Renaissance painters who
sought to convey a clear and understandable message through their paintings, Leonardo cre-
ated an enigma, a problem to which he gives no answer. There is a deep and complex inner life
to his figures that finds a parallel only in those of Rembrandt.
The personality of Mona Lisa, for instance, impresses itself upon us vividly but there is
always something about her which we cannot grasp. "Mona Lisa" is one of Leonardo's greatest
works because of its plasticity, the delicate rendering of light and shade, and the poetic use of
his so-called "sfumato" to emphasize the gentleness and serenity of the sitter's face and the
beauty of her hands. It is the supreme example of Leonardo's unique ability to create a master -
piece which lies between the realm of poetry and the concrete realism of a portrait. That is why
the painting is so disquieting and why it has aroused so many divergent theories. Actually, the
portrait is the fusion of Leonardo's artistic beliefs: the idea that it is humanly possible to repre-
sent nature visually in all the fullness of its realism; the deep nostalgia, characteristic of
Leonardo's generation, for a calm and remote beauty; and the individual characterisation which
was the aim of Renaissance portraiture. The landscape background is a splendid page of ro-
manticised geology, a natural lock, below, holding back the blue lake and the river.
Leonardo's facility of execution is without limit. Nature seems to present no problem that
he does not solve. His draughtsmanship is always effortless and perfectly accurate whether in
flowers, as in the foreground of "The Virgin of the Rocks", in the human figure or in distant
mountains, as in the background of "The Saint Anne". The forms are strong and convincing.
They are modelled with extraordinary subtlety so that the surface has a delicate living quality,
an excellent example of which is the strange mobile smile of Mona Lisa. The use of half light
and soft shadows increases this effect. The important parts of Leonardo's paintings are empha-
sized by greater clarity of light whereas the background is treated in mysterious half shadows.
Little is known about his colour, but judging from the recent cleaning of the London ver-
sion of "The Virgin of the Rocks" it was generally subdued for the sake of the greater delicacy
of modelling with occasional brighter accents of cold contrasting tones that add to the strange
and mysterious atmosphere.
The only authentic self portrait of Leonardo done in red chalk in his last years is executed
in a firm, clear style.

GEOGRAPHICAL AND PROPER NAMES

Leonardo da Vinci [,li(:)ərna:dəu da'vint∫i] Lodovico Sforza [lo'dovikəu 'sfo:tse]
Леонардо да Винчи Лодовико Сфорца (также известный как
Raphael Santi [,ræfe(i)əl 'sa:nti] Рафаэль Людовико Моро)
Санти "The Madonna of the Rocks" (or "The
Michelangelo Buonarroti [,maikəl Virgin of the Rocks") «Мадонна в скалах»
'ændʒiləu ,bwonə'roti] Микеланджело (или «Maдонна в гроте)
Буонарроти "The Last Supper" «Тайная вечеря» (the
Titian ['ti∫iən] Тициан refectory of the Convent of Dominican Fri-
Tuscany ['tλskəni] Тоскана ars трапезная монастыря Доминиканских
Verrocchio [vi'rəukiəu] Верроккио (an out- монахов)
standing Florentine sculptor, painter and Rembrandt van Rijn [‘rembræn væn’rain]
goldsmith) Рембрандт ванн Рейн
Donatello [donə'teləu] Донателло (the Mona Lisa [‘məunə ‘li:zə] Мона Лиза
greatest sculptor of the Early Renaissance) (Джоконда)
"The Adoration of the Magi" ['meidʒai]
«Поклонение волхвов»

VOCABULARY NOTES

§ 6. apprentice [ə'prentis] n ученик, турные изображения; ~ art искусство

подмастерье; to be apprenticed to smb. ваяния, пластическое искусство
быть отданным кому-л. в ученье; appren- from his hand зд. написанное его рукой.
ticeship n учение, обучение, ученичество; Sуп. from one’s brush, е.g. Very few works
to serve (оne’s) ~ (with smb.) находиться в from Masaccio’s hand have come down to
учении, проходить обучение us.
to come down to us из доходить до нас. workship п мастерская, студия. Sуп. stu-
Sуп. to survive dio
varnish п лак, фиксаж; varnish vt canvas п 1) холст, полотно; 2) полотно,
покрывать лаком (Varnish serves as a pro- картина (маслом), е.g. Some very fine can-
tective layer over the painted surface.) vases by Renaissance Florentine painters
an aura ['o:rə] of poetic sentiment were brought to the exhibition.
атмосфера поэтичности, настроение pigment п краска, краситель, пигмент
поэтичности Note: Pigments usually come in the form of
plasticity [plæs'tisiti] п зд. рельефность: powders, the result of grinding various ma-
visual ~ зримая (почти осязаемая) terials, mainly of mineral origin. A variety
рельефность; plastic а рельефный, of ingredients are used to bind pigments to-
похожий на скульптуру; ~ images скульп- gether. Among the oldest is a combination
of beaten egg-yolk and water which when
mixed with pigments, is called tempera. message п идея, мысль, взгляды, идейное
Starting in the 15th century, a new vehicle содержание, е.g. All the works of that artist
for coloured pigments appeared: oil. This have a deep social message.
has been justifiably considered one of the sfumato (ит.) п «сфумато» «дым-
major advances in painting of all time. Pig- чатость», т.е. смягченность формы,
ments are bound together with oil and di- плавность перехода от света к тени. е.g.
luted at will by either oil or spirits (usually Leonardo’s sfumato (or “smoky technique”)
with a mixture of both) blends contours and volumes into the atmos-
oil п зд. масляная краска, масло; to paint phere, creating a vague sense of mystery
in ~(s); ~-painting живопись масляными while at the same time toning down the bril-
красками; an ~- painting (or an oil) liance of his colours.
картина маслом portraiture п портретная живопись. Sуп.
underpainting n подмалевок (the painting portrait painting
and modeling of form in a picture in one landscape п 1) пейзаж: rural ~
tone before colour is applied). Sуп. under- деревенский пейзаж; 2) пейзажная
coat живопись, also ~ painting, е.g. He was a
1ау on накладывать: to ~ paints, colours; to great master of landscape); 3) пейзаж
~ the underpainting (картина), е.g. His landscapes were the
conception п замысел, идея (зд. также most delightful ones at the exhibition.
видение, трактовка). Sуп. concept (bold, town (city)-scape городской пейзаж
individual, imaginative); conceive vt, vi background п задний план, фон. Апt.
представлять себе, задумывать, за- Foreground; in the ~ на заднем плане; to
мышлять be, stand, be painted, drawn, etc. in the ~;
render vt передавать, изображать: to ~ against a ~ на фоне; to stand out, be posed,
light, atmosphere, е.g. He rendered the painted, represented against a dark (light,
scene before him truthfully. etc.) ~; against the ~ of a wall, forest, etc.
stand out выделяться, выступать (also against a wall, a landscape, etc.); on a
«объемно», е.g. His figures are so perfectly background (also, ground) на фоне (in dec-
modeled that they seem to stand out from orative art), as a flowery pattern on a black
the background. e.g. The figure of the man (back) ground, pink spots on a brown back-
stands out against the high blue sky. ~ (аs) ground, etc.; to melt into the ~ сливаться с
in high relief выступать как в горельефе. фоном; аttr. иsе background (foreground)
bathed (in) зд. залитый: ~ in sunlight; ~ in figures in a picture.
moonlight; ~ in twilight glow execute vt исполнять, выполнять: to ~ а
command smb’s attention завладевать picture, а painting, а statue, еtc.; execution
чьим-л. вниманием п исполнение, выполнение; the perfection
convey vt передавать, выражать: to ~ an of ~ ; the facility of ~
idea, a message, one’s feelings, observa- authentic [o:'θеntik] а подлинный,
tions, etc. e.g. in this portrait the artist tried достоверный: an ~ work, painting, signa-
to convey the aura of romance that seemed ture, еtc.; authenticity [,o:θən’tisiti] п
to surround the woman. подлинность, достоверность

WORK ON ТНЕ ТЕХТ

I. Translate the italicized words and phrases from the texts. Give a back translation with-
out consulting the texts.
II. a) Translate in written form the paragraph beginning with “Leonardo’s facility of exe-
cution…” and ending with “… the strange mobile smile of Mona Lisa”, b) translate your
version back into English without consulting the text, c) check the results with the original
and make all the necessary corrections.
III. Find the English equivalents for
монументальность композиции; строгое геометрическое обрамление; сложная
внутренняя жизнь; наглядно изображать природу; пейзажный фон; краски,
приглушенные ради большей мягкости лепки, способствующие созданию таинственности
атмосферы
IV. Answer the following questions:
1. Why is it said in the text that the history of Western civilisation records no man as gifted as
Leonardo da Vinci? 2. Who was Andrea del Verrocchio? What part did he play in Leonardo's
education? 3. Why have so few of Leonardo's paintings come down to us? 4. What trends of
early Renaissance Italian painting did Leonardo achieve a combination of in his works? 5. What
was Leonardo's earliest work? 6. What was Leonardo's first masterpiece? 7. What qualities of
"The Madonna of the Rocks" make Leonardo a typical artist of the High Renaissance? 8. What
is the subject matter of "The Last Supper"? Speak on its composition and treatment. 9. What
was Leonardo's main contribution to art? 10. Why did the painting "The Last Supper" begin to
peel and blister only a few years after it was finished? 11. Why can we say that the portrait of
Mona Lisa is the fusion of Leonardo's artistic beliefs? 12. What can you say about Leonardo's
ability to render atmosphere and light? 13. What do we know about Leonardo's colour?
V. Retell the text in great detail.
VI. Learn by heart the paragraph beginning with "Leonardo's facility of execution..." to
the end.
VII. Make up an outline of the text.
VIII. Watch in youtube the video with the pictures by the artist.

§ 7. Raphael (1483—1520)
Raphael was born in Urbino in 1483. At an early age Raphael must have come under the
influence of Pietro Perugino's art. In the inspired beauty and tranquil flowing lines of Peru-
gino's compositions, the young Raphael recognised the perfection of his own artistic aspira-
tions.
Raphael went to Florence late in the autumn of 1504. Soon his works bear evidence of
the impressions which had conquered him there.
All those world-famous Madonnas which Raphael painted during his Florentine period,
from the end of 1504 to the end of 1508, are but the more mature sisters of the "Madonna
Connestabile" and of the "Marriage of the Virgin", painted by him earlier.
In all his Madonna compositions the movements and groupings are handled with such in-
genuity and naturalness that the spectator can hardly ever be aware of the careful planning, the
precise calculation of even each brushstroke. Thus, Raphael's artistic connection with Leonardo
is a very particular one; he was the only immediate follower capable of further developing
Leonardo's ideas and of adding his own.
Towards the end of the year 1508, Raphael left Florence to participate in the decoration
of the Vatican. The first room which Raphael was commissioned to paint is referred to as Stan-
za dell a Segnatura. The completion of the frescoes in the Stanza del la Segnatura in 1511 signi-
fied a great triumph for Raphael. The Pope immediately decided to have Raphael paint the dec-
orations in the adjoining room, which was used for private audiences, without regard to already
existing paintings by older as well as contemporary artists. A careful examination of the exist-
ing documents on this subject leaves no margin for doubt that works by Piero del la Francesca,
Bramantino and others had to be effaced in order to make room for the new paintings with
which the Stanza d'Eliodoro was to be adorned.
In the very years when the immediate work in the first and second Stanze was done,
Raphael's activity extended to numerous easel-paintings, altar pieces, mythologies and por-
traits. Besides the many excellent portraits inserted in the murals of the Stanze several individ-
ual easel-portraits emerged from Raphael's studio.
During the brief seven years before Raphael's death an astonishing number of master-
pieces were created. In addition, innumerable ideas and artistic inventions of Raphael survive in
engravings, woodcuts and studio-paintings.
In the Madonna paintings of Raphael's last period only a few compositions with half-
length figures, such as the "Madonna della Tenda" in Munich and the "Madonna with the Rose"
in the Prado, need be mentioned. The others are compositions with full-length figures, mostly
of large dimensions. Among them the most famous Madonna representation of all times: the
"Madonna with St Sixtus and St Barbara" in the Dresden Gallery. Apparently neither Raphael
nor his contemporaries were aware what a unique masterpiece they sent to the Black Monks of
St Sisto in Piacenza. It is not until the 18th century that the picture gained the enthusiastic ad-
miration which it has retained ever since. This was the last Madonna which Raphael painted. It
was executed entirely by his own hand, and while all the other Madonnas and easel pictures by
Raphael (except the St John of the Uffizi, Florence) were painted on wood, this one is on can -
vas of very fine texture.
A pretty, but not authentic, legend says that the idea of the angels at the base of the pic-
ture was suggested to Raphael by seeing two little boys who had climbed up to one of the win-
dows of his studio and were intently gazing at him while he worked.
This masterpiece by Raphael has been regarded by many critics as the first painting in the
world. In force and sentiment and in the ease and harmony of its composition, this work has
hardly an equal; whilst in the dignity and grandeur of the Divine Mother, no work can be com-
pared with it. The peculiar "divine" expression of the Madonna's face is due in part to an exag -
gerated breadth between the eyes, and partly to the peculiar non-focussing of the eyes by which
they are made to look at no particular point, but into indefinite distance.
We have no direct knowledge of Raphael's working habits, except what we can deduce
from his pictures and drawings. Each picture by Raphael seems to tell that the search for perfec-
tion even in the smallest detail was his compelling passion. And his drawings show what infi-
nite pains he took to achieve perfection. Raphael was born with an uncommonly keen eye and a
sensitive hand which was entirely at his eye's command. He transformed the drapery motifs of
his teachers. The clothes that he painted look no longer as though artfully arranged over a pup-
pet and frozen forever; they flow and they reflect the live body underneath. No wonder that
some artists of the early nineteenth century suspected them to be drawn from draped live mod-
els rather than from an immobile wooden figure.
Raphael's figures are true to life and reveal a complete command of the human form. He
often drew a figure in its entirety, though it was to appear in the picture only partially, so as to
avoid the impression that a composition was pieced together from fragments. Thus, Raphael
succeeded in giving the appearance of completeness to each figure in a crowd, however much it
may be concealed behind others (as, for instance in his famous "The School of Athens").
Former centuries highly valued the expressiveness of Raphael's art. It was for this that
every young artist was expected to devote himself to the study of Raphael's composition.

GEOGRAPHICAL AND PROPER NAMES

Pietro Perugino ['pjetrəu ,peru(:)’dʒi:nəu] the Prado ['pra:dəu] Прадо (a museum in
Пьетро Перуджино (an Italian painter, Madrid, Spain)
1446-1523) St Sixtus [sn(t)'sikstəs] Св. Сикст
Urbino [з:'bi:nəu] Урбино St Barbara [sn(t)'ba:b(a)rs] Св. Варвара
the Vatican ['vætikən] Ватикан (the papal Piacenza [pja:'t∫entsə] Пьяченца (a city in
palace, consisting of a group of buildings) Northern Italy)
Stanza della Segnatura the Uffizi ['ufitsi] Уффици (a picture
['stænzə ,delə ,senjə'tuərə] Станца дела gallery in Florence)
Сентьятуро (stanza um. парадная комната) the Divine [di'vain] Mother богоматерь
Piero della Francesca ['pjerəu ,dela "The School of Athens" “Афинская
fræn't∫eskə] Пьеро дела Франческа (an школа” (one of the frescoes painted for the
Umbrian painter, 1420—1492) Vatican stanze)
Munich ['mju:nik] Мюнхен

VOCABULARY NOTES
§ 7. handle vt обходиться, обращаться; a полный, во весь рост: ~ figure фигура,
трактовать, передавать to ~ groupings изображенная в полный рост; full-length
размещать фигуры; to ~ movement(s) n портрет во весь рост
предавать движение; to ~ composition treat vt трактовать, e.g. Matter and objects
строить композицию; to ~ space are treated in a new way in Chardin's still-
передавать (создавать) пространство; to ~ lifes; treatment n трактовка, e.g. The dis-
one's material работать с материалом; to ~ covery of painting in oils in the 15th century
light передавать свет led to new diversity in the treatment of light,
half-length (waist-length) a поясной: ~ linear ~ линейная трактовка
figure (фигура, изображенная по пояс); (изображения); surface ~ обработка
half-length n поясной портрет; full-length поверхности

WORK ON THE TEXT

I. Translate the italicised words and phrases from the text. Give a back translation with-
out consulting the text.
II. Translate into Russian, in written form, the paragraph beginning with "Raphael's fig-
ures are true to life..." ending with "... behind others." Translate your paragraph back
into English without consulting the text. Check with the original and make all the neces-
sary corrections.
III. Find the English equivalents for:
тщательно продуманная композиция; структурная построение; изображение
задумано как единое целое; участвовать в росписи Ватикана; ей (этой картине) нет
равной; необыкновенно острое восприятие; жизненно правдивое изображение; в
совершенстве передавать анатомию фигуры; рисовать фигуру целиком
IV. Answer the following questions:
1. What is characteristic of Raphael's Madonna compositions? 2. What commission did Raphael
undertake in Rome and how did he fulfill it? 3. How is Raphael's Sistine Madonna regarded by
many critics? What does it represent? How does Raphael achieve the "divine" expression of the
Madonna's face? 4. What do Raphael's pictures and drawings tell us of his working habits? 5.
How did Raphael succeed in making his figures so true to life?
V. Retell the text as close to the original as possible.
VI. Give a summary of the text.
VII. Watch in youtube the video with the pictures by the artist.
 § 8. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475—1564)
Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in 1475 in a small town near Florence. When
Michelangelo was thirteen he was apprenticed to Ghirlandaio for three years during which time
he showed a definite preference for sculpture.
In 1494, he visited Venice and Bologna before going on to Rome to execute his Pieta for
Saint Peter's (1498—1500). The subject is a very difficult one, for the Virgin holds the body of
Christ across her knees. Earlier Renaissance sculptors had added Saint John and Magdalen to
the scene to help support the inert body and prevent it from seeming to crush the frail Madonna.
Michelangelo excluded the two figures and by subtle positioning and by exaggerating slightly
the scale of the Virgin he created a compact and isolated monument of extraordinary emotional
force.
Within the majestic dignity of the group there appear countless delicate contrasts. The
rigid lines of Christ angle across and around the graceful curves of the Madonna as she rests re -
signedly, her knees sloping forward, her body arching back and then forward, protectively
above. This is the first work Michelangelo ever signed. Legend has it that after the group was
installed in the chapel, some northern visitors were overheard attributing it to one of their own
countrymen. Whatever the cause, he carved "Michael Angelus Bonarotus Florentinus Faciebat"
on the broad strap that runs across the left breast and shoulder of the Virgin. From this time on
his distinctive style was sufficient identification.
On his return to Florence in 1501 Michelangelo signed a contract to make the famous
statue of David which was to commemorate the deliverance of the city from her enemies. Con-
tract in hand, he started in at once. Around the marble he built a shed which was locked at all
times, a precaution that implies a preference for his own company, a distrust of his fellows, and,
very possibly a sharp sense of publicity. He worked with a furious energy so great that he often
slept In his clothes, grudging the time it took to take them off and put them on again.
Technically this statue marked a change in Michelangelo's development. In a single work
he achieved the difficult transition from normal scale to the colossal without a flaw, setting
back the chin slightly, so that it would not cut off too much of the features from the spectator's
view, building out the nose and forehead, placing the eyes on a subtly slanting plane. He relied
on the sharp turn of the neck to animate the profile and selected veins and sinews to give telling
vitality to the surface.
At the age of thirty Michelangelo was called to Rome and for the next thirty years he
worked there for a succession of Popes. Apart from the unfinished tomb for Pope Julius II,
which was to have been his masterpiece in sculpture, the most important work of this period is
the magnificent and elaborate painting on the ceilling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. This
immense ceiling, almost an acre in area, is forty feet above the ground, curved in form and in-
terrupted by window openings. It would have been a tremendous problem to any experienced
painter. For Michelangelo, who had as yet done very little painting, certainly nothing on an
overhead surface, it was a formidable challenge.
The Prophet Jeremiah on the Sistine ceiling is one of the most expressive figures; the
bent shoulders and general downward movement symbolise the sadness of this great seer who
sits, chin in hand and eyes half closed, revealing his thoughtful dejection. Most masters of the
High Renaissance were able to express the emotions of their figures through positions of the
arms and legs or postures of the body; they attached as much importance to these factors as to
the expression on the face itself. This is as true of Jeremiah as of Adam in the Creation scene
(also on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel) or Leonardo's "Madonna of the Rocks".
What is especially striking — and characteristic of Michelangelo — in the portrayal of
Jeremiah is the illusion of a three-dimensional space in which the figure can actually move.
This is effected through the powerful contour line of the form itself, and the painted recess of
the niche in which it is set. Jeremiah's legs are drawn in under him, implying the same possibil-
ity of movements as do the hunched shoulders and sunken head.
When the monumental painting in the Sistine Chapel was finished, it was signed:
"Michelangelo, Sculptor".
Michelangelo's thoughtful, passionate force of character was reflected in his work, with
its love for contorted nudes to express emotion through the device of turning one part of the
body in a different direction from another, and yet balancing the parts of the body. In a study
for the Sistine Chapel ceiling the Lybian Sybil is drawn in red chalk. The chalk lines model with
great force the forms of the head and the mighty back and arms. Great care has been given to
the anatomical structure of the figure and the muscles show with more distinctness and salience
than they would even in the most highly trained athlete. The figure has been thought of "in the
round", from all sides, as a sculptor would conceive it, and not as an appearance of the model
from one position only, the usual practice of painters.

§ 9. Titian (1485/90—1576)
During the 16th century Venice occupied a dominating position in the art world, and
painting flourished anew under the leadership of Giorgione, Titian and their followers. Colour
became predominant, while ease and forcefulness in technique was allied with dashing execu-
tion.
It was in the art of Titian that Venetian art reached its peak. Titian's portraits are astonish-
ing in their penetration of character. The formal and closely knit composition of his portraits
enhances the fantastic quality of the colour which is lit by an inner light. This is revealed in the
portrait of Pietro Aretino, a poet who is portrayed in imposing dignity as he advances, his robe
with wide lapels thrown carelessly open across his chest. Painting in broad, sure strokes and
de-emphasising details, the artist achieves an impression of genuine three-dimensionality and
volume. While the fabrics of the clothing are not done in detail, they are rendered with a regard
for their actual quality as materials. Aretino describes the living quality of this portrait himself:
"Certainly it breathes, pulsates and moves the spirit in the way I do in life."
The more directly sensual and ostentatious side of Titian's art may be seen in the "Venus
and the Lute Player". In this late work, the delicacy and richness of Titian's colour reaches a
new height with its sensitive glazes and surface mixings of paint. The broad sweeping lines of
the composition carry the eye from side to side in a semicircle reaching from the little Cupid at
the right to the tip of the musician's lute and up into the mountains at the left. The nude Venus
and the young poetic nobleman seem to have been interrupted in the course of playing music.
She holds a flute in her hand and the young man turns from his lute to watch the little godling
place a crown of flowers on her head. There is a feeling of things having stopped, of sounds
hovering in the air. But this voluptuous and richly portrayed woman is far from a poetic type —
not because she may to our eyes look somewhat overabundant but rather because the painter
looks upon her in too matter-of-fact a way. She is a magnificent still life, a beautifully and ma-
terialistically handled piece of flesh, rich and splendid like the red curtains in the background
with their warm shadows.
To repeat an old doctrine: from Leonardo one can learn about light and shade, from
Michelangelo about anatomy and movement, from Raphael about expression, and from Titian
about colour.

GEOGRAPHICAL AND PROPER NAMES

Ghirlandaio [,girla:n'da:jəu] Гирландайо the Lybian Sybil ['libiən'sibil] Ливийская
the Pieta [,pie'ta:] Пьета (“Оплакивание сивилла
Христа”) Giorgione [,dʒo:dʒ(i)'əuni] Джорджоне (a
the Sistine Chapel ['sisti:n ‘'t∫æp(ə)l] Venetian painter, 1478—1511)
Сикстинская капелла Pietro Aretino ['pjetrəu æri'ti:nəu] Пьетро
the Prophet Jeremiah ['profit ,dʒeri'maiə] Аретино (an Italian poet)
пророк Иеремия

VOCABULARY NOTES
§ 8. plane n плоскость: on a slanting ~ в sensual ['sensjuəl] a 1) чувственный; 2)
наклонной плоскости, on a different ~ в относящийся к чувствам,
другой плоскости воспринимаемым каким-л. из пяти
chisel ['t∫izl] n резец, долото скульптора; органов чувств. Syn. sensuous
chisel vt высекать, вырезать, rich a (about colour) сочный (краска, тон),
обрабатывать резцом, долотом; chiselling e.g. Rembrandt's colour is rich and warm,
n вырезание, высекание richness n сочность, насыщенность
elaborate [i'læbərit] a сложный, But: богатство красок is a riot of colour, a
разработанный в деталях; elaborate wide range of colours, a wide colour-
[i'læbəreit] vt, vi раскрывать с большой scheme.
подробностью glaze n лессировка, тонкий слой краски
downward movement нисходящие линии, (один из многих слоев, накладываемых
also: upward, sideways, etc. movement друг на друга)
contorted a 1) искаженный (o чертах carry the eye from отводить взор от чего-
лица); 2) изломанный (о фигуре); ~ fig- л.
ures (those represented in twisted, unnatural, nude a обнаженный (в живописи и
violent poses), cf. distorted a искаженный скульптуре) ; a semi- nude figure
(для большой выразительности) полуобнаженная фигура; nude n
§ 9. de-emphasise details не выделять обнаженная фигура
деталей voluptuous [və'lλptjuəs] a пышные
формы: a ~ figure
WORK ON THE TEXTS
I. Translate the italicised words and phrases from the texts. Give a back translation with-
out consulting the texts.
II. Paraphrase or explain the following:
§ 8 — by exaggerating slightly the scale of the Virgin; the rigid lines of Christ angle across and
around the graceful curves of the Madonna; he achieved the difficult transition from normal
scale to the colossal; building out the nose and forehead;
§ 9 — to enhance the fantastic quality of the colour; the fabrics are rendered with a regard for
their actual quality as materials.
III. Answer the following questions:
a) 1. How was the subject of the Pieta treated by Renaissance sculptors before Michelan-
gelo? 2. What solution did Michelangelo find in the execution of his Pieta? 3. How did Mich-
elangelo achieve the difficult transition from normal scale to the colossal in his "David"? What
effect does he achieve with the sharp turn of the neck? 4. How did Michelangelo and certain
other painters of the High Renaissance convey emotion in the figures they painted? 5. Why did
he sign his paintings "Michelangelo, Sculptor"? 6. Give several reasons why the painting of the
ceiling in the Sistine Chapel was such a challenge to Michelangelo? 7. What means did
Michelangelo use to convey the sad, reflective mood of the Prophet Jeremiah? 8. What were
some of the devices he used to give the illusion of volume and three-dimensional space?
b) 1. What is Venetian art noted for? 2. What is the distinctive quality of Titian's portraits
and how is this revealed in his painting of Pietro Aretino? 3. What aspect of Titian's art can be
seen in the "Venus and the Lute Player"? 4. How does the eye follow the lines of the composi -
tion? 5. How is the figure of the Venus treated?
IV. Give a brief summary of each text.
V. Retell the texts in detail.
VI. Watch in youtube the video with the pictures by the artist.